This will be a short post with the exception of the excerpt. I have been battling sleep apnea and now have the wonderful addition of a throbbing tooth that will probably need a root canal in the future. Here’s hoping that antibiotics will take care of it for this flare up, and I can get it taken care of a couple months from now.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 10: Search and Destroy is out on Amazon Kindle, and should be out in paperback in a week. It should be available on all the Amazons worldwide, but I will only give the links to Amazon.US and Amazon.UK, since those are my two largest markets. This is the tenth volume in the main storyline, and the fourteenth book in the Exodus Universe overall. Right now the plan is to do twenty books in the main storyline, which makes this the end of the first half of that series. I will also continue the Machine War series for at least five books, and have some more Tales of the Empire short collections planned. And then? Well, I have this idea to go back to the beginning and tell the story of how the Empire began, from the flight from the Ca’cadasan invasion through the reestablishment of the human species as a power to be reckoned with. After that? Well, I have a lot of ideas for other Space Opera series, Fantasy series, Alternate History series. Alternate History is a long time love of mine, and I have some ideas I think will do very well in that marketplace. But I still have a long way to go with the Exodus series.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 10 follows the action on both of the fronts of the war, as well as the guerrilla naval war with the Fenri. It also offers a look into the workings of the Ca’cadasan Empire, from the halls of power to the commanders on the fronts. An Empire that has rolled over all opposition in its past, and now finds itself facing a powerful coalition that is not about to lie down and let them have their way. As said before in other blogs this is a big war in a big Galaxy, with a lot going on. It was never meant to be a series where one side comes up with the winning superweapon and the war is suddenly over. Instead, it’s a long back and forth battle for supremacy, with setbacks along the way. And now for an excerpt.

PO 1st Winston Nagawa stood in the hanger of the Scranton, armored up, wondering how in the hell he got into such a situation. It was bad enough to have to be aboard a warship during combat, but to take place in a boarding operation. It struck him as a bad idea, especially in hyperspace. He had images of pirates swinging across from the deck of one planetary ocean ship to the deck of another on ropes that hung from creaking masts. Instead, he would be exiting one ship that was moving through space at a significant percentage of light speed onto another doing the same.

“You ready, PO?” asked the naval officer who would be in charge of the assault. A Lieutenant JG engineer from the Scranton, in command of a Marine platoon and a couple score of spacers.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, sir,” answered Nagawa, looking around the hangar at the other armored figures. Thirty-three Marines in battle armor, some heavy, along with thirty spacers wearing their shipboard medium armor. This was team Alpha, which had two initial targets aboard the liner. The engineering section, which contained the only means of blowing up the ship. And the passenger sections along the way, where almost all of the ship’s crew and many of the civilians should be located. Team Bravo, thirty-three Marines and twenty spacers, under command of the Marine commander of Scranton, would be going in on the one hyper capable shuttle available. They would target the bridge, where all the command and control systems converged, and the auxiliary control station.

“You make sure that nothing happens to you on the way to engineering,” ordered Lt. Mishara with a smile. “You’re the only one who knows his way around this engineering section.”

“It’s not exactly the same as the ship I served on, sir,” commented Nagawa.

“Still closer than anything the rest of us have seen, PO.”

A signal buzzed over the com, and every person in the hangar tensed. “Team Alpha. Check your environmentals. Mission is a go. Mission start time, two minutes.”

Nagawa ordered his suit to lower his faceplate and looked over the diagnostics of all his systems. Everything was a go. He checked the particle beam rifle hanging around his neck and made sure the proton pack was seated properly and that it was powered up. The same with the backup pistol holstered by his side. His HUD was showing a timer, and when it hit one minute and thirty seconds he went ahead and linked into the ship’s tactical system, in time to see the light cruiser’s laser rings fire brief beams of energy, striking singular points on the liner. The beams were invisible, the strikes were not, and hull alloy flared with each strike. The cruiser rotated around the liner, firing. One beam came back, hitting the cruiser and doing minimal damage, just before being taken out.

“Liner’s defenses offline. Launching shuttle.”

On the other side of the cruiser the starboard hangar opened and the hyper capable shuttle flew out into hyperspace, curving around the ships and taking up a station on the reverse side of the liner.

“Prepare for movement. Twenty seconds.”

The hatch of the hangar everyone had been standing in slid inward, then split and moved out of the way to both sides. The side of the liner was a couple of kilometers away and moving closer. In seconds they were in close proximity, and the space between was enclosed in the combined hyperfields of the two ships. Magnetic grapples held the two ships together, and Nagawa hoped that the tractor was a secure link. Otherwise, they might be falling out into hyperspace, to their doom.

“Opening up the Star’s hangar,” came across the tactical net. A bright flash appeared on the hull across from the boarding party, alloy flaring and vaporizing into space. The cruiser put the full power of one ring into the hatch, an eight meter wide spotlight beam that burned through the thin hull of the commercial craft in a couple of seconds.

“Boarding party, go,” came across the general com.

Winston wanted to go at that moment, to get the crossing over with. That wasn’t his spot. The initial crossing went to the first squad of the Marines. Twelve heavy battle suits, flying out through the cold plasma field over the hangar hatch, into the forty meters of empty space, and through the opening on the hatch of the liner’s hangar. The Marines went through two at a time, their eyes sweeping the hangar as they entered. Shouts rang out over the com, followed by a short scream. A part of the still intact hangar hatch glowed, as if some beam weapon had struck the other side.

Two more Marines entered, then another pair, and commands rang back and forth as they engaged in combat on the other ship. More Marines entered, until the entire squad was in the hangar. The second squad launched itself across the space, another twelve heavily armed and armored Marines. More hot spots appeared on the hangar hatch, and one point blew out as something powerful struck.

“Hangar is secure,” came the voice of the senior Marine Sergeant over the com. “You can start sending the spacers over.”

That meant Nagawa’s group, and he lifted from the deck and headed out, crossing the space between the ships as quickly as possible. He still had time for a glance upwards, through the combined fields, into the red emptiness of hyperspace. It sent a shiver down his spine, but he was back inside in moments.

The hangar looked like a battle had been fought. Two Marine suits lay on the floor, one unmoving, a large hole burned through the torso. The other was still moving, but was missing an arm, and one of the newly arrived spacers, a medic, was kneeling by the Marine. There were holes in several places along the walls of the hangar, a shuttle was a total wreck in the middle of the chamber, while another had a hole through the cockpit. Scorch marks were everywhere, the sign of particle beams fired with abandon. And there were a half dozen small armored suits laying in attitudes of death, as well as one that was about the size of a medium suited human, though of non-human design.

I would like to thank the lovely Sarah Hoyt, the Beautiful but Evil Space Princess, for tagging me for the “Meet the Character” Blog Tour. Her own blog can be found here.

An Interview with the Baron Cornelius Walborski, Significant Character in Exodus: Empires at War and main character in Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger.

I kind of wondered what I was doing here myself, when there are so many more important aspects of this war to cover. A war that was costing humanity dearly, one which we were in no way assured of winning. Instead, here I was, sitting in a small room in the Imperial Palace, waiting to interview a young noble. I had looked up all I could on the young man, and was sure that most of what the records had to say were propaganda intended to boost the morale of the public. I mean, no one could have survived what he had, could they?

The door opened, and the man I was waiting for walked in. He was easy to recognize. Not that he was such an unusual subject, with his short brown hair and sun darkened skin, just a bit taller than average. The uniform, Imperial Army dress blues, looked much the same as so many others I had seen in the palace. Golden bars on the shoulder boards, the mark of a junior officer. Ranger tab on his left sleeve, the mark of his sacrifice of life for ability. The ribbons on his left breast, more than would be expected in a young lieutenant, including one that made me suck in my breath. It’s one thing to hear of someone winning two Imperial Medals of Heroism, but to actually see the evidence. And the last indication of something special was the shining metallic plate hanging from the chain round his neck, the mark of an Imperial Knight.

The young man looked into my eyes, and suddenly all doubts about his record were gone. The eyes were a deep blue, with a stare that looked across light years of space. The eyes of a man who has already seen too much, but was determined to look on all he needed to survey to see the war completed to the satisfaction of his species.

“My Lord,” I said, getting to my feet and reaching out a hand as I bowed at the waist slightly.

“Call me Cornelius,” said the young man in a strong New Detroit accent, bowing his head a bit as he stepped forward. His gait was pure grace, his grip strong without being crushing, and he moved like a man who was well aware of his physical superiority, and was careful around those of us not so endowed.

But the price he paid, I thought, keeping a smile on my face, even while I thought of the decades he must have sacrificed to become augmented. Most of the augmented, the retroactively genetic engineered, did not live past their one hundred eightieth birthday, forty years less than the average. Not that there were many in the military that expected to make it that far into their normal life span.

“I’m still not used to all of this bowing and scraping,” said Walbroski with a smile. “I never much liked being on the other side of the scraping. Not sure I like this view any better.”

The young man sat in the facing chair, and I returned to mine. A servant entered with two drinks, what looked like ale or beer, in sweating glasses. The Baron was offered first, as befitted his social rank, then myself.

“So, what does Galactic News Network want from me?” asked the young man.

“At least in the regiment I don’t have to put up with all of this deference,” growled the Ranger. “There, we’re all just men, no one better or worse than the other. The whole reason I left New Detroit, so I didn’t have to put up with that nonsense.”

“Strange words coming from someone who is considered a friend of the Emperor.”

“Sean’s great,” said Walborski, his eyes softening. “He plays the game, because it’s expected of him, but anyone who tries to play sycophant with him is going to regret it.”

“And the reason he’s your friend? That he was the best man at your wedding, while you were his?”

“I tell him the truth,” said the Ranger, after taking a sip from his beer. “He respects that, just like I respect him looking for it. No surprise there.”

I looked him in the eyes, seeing no deception, something, if I say so myself, I am good at spotting. “Where did you get the nickname, Hunter?”

The smile left his face, and I wondered if I had crossed the line. “I use to help my dad run hunts for nobles back on New Detroit. That’s how he made his living, before some idiot got him killed.”

“And Sestius? From what I read, the colonists also hung that label on you.”

“I went just a little bit, crazy, on Sestius,” said The Hunter, his eyes flashing fire. “The damned bastard Cacas killed my wife. I thought they might need to pay a blood price for that, so I went out into the jungle and hunted them down.”

“Twenty of them? And you weren’t even augmented yet?”

“You ever seen a Ca’cadasan?”asked the young man, referring to the aliens who had made it their mission in life to destroy humanity.

I nodded. Everyone had seen them, at least on the tri dee. Three meters of bipedal mammal, with four mighty arms and faces like demons. Topped by twin horns a half meter tall. “Terrifying creatures,” I agreed.

“But not all that much in the jungle,” said the Hunter, the smile on his face transforming into something that would make even those powerful creatures quail. “They didn’t evolve for that environment. From what I understand, they lived in tribal groups in scrub forest, which doesn’t tend to produce the best jungle fighters. They’re big and clumsy, and you can hear them coming a kilometer away.”

“But to face one, by yourself?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not so hard to face them when you come up from behind. . And a mono-molecular blade does them just fine.”

“So, Sestius made you want to become a Ranger?”

“Preacher made me want to become a Ranger,” said Walborski, shaking his head. “I’d never seen anyone move like he could. And I wanted to be the same, so I could kill Cacas.”

“But the cost?” I asked, waiting for the reply that would tell me so much about this man.

Cornelius looked like he wanted to say something, but his mouth remained shut and he shook his head. I knew there was another story there, but one I was not going to get this day.

“Tell me a little bit about Azure?”

The light year stare returned to the eyes, and I could tell that his memories were not pleasant. The young man took another sip from his beer and set it down, and I could detect a slight shake his hand.

“A lot of good men went into the brush of Azure,” he said in a quiet voice. “It was the most hellish jungle you could imagine. Full of things that wanted to kill and eat you, plant, animal and the damned hybrids.” His shoulders shook for a moment. “I’m just happy to be out of that place. It was hell for the Cacas too, but we made it even more so.”

“And you destroyed a Ca’cadasan HQ after they wiped out the rest of the company? That took some courage.”

“It took some insanity,” said the Hunter with a chuckle. “But it needed to be done, I was in place to do it, so I did. That’s all there is to it.”

“And you received another Imperial Medal of Heroism for it.”

“This thing?” said the Ranger, his finger touching the ribbon. “I would give this away just to bring back half of those men I went in there with. Unfortunately, the Universe doesn’t work that way.”

“And then the Donut? And saving the Empress on her wedding day? Any future plans for saving the Empire?”

The eyes flashed again in anger, and I realized I was in the presence of one of the most dangerous men in the Empire. And, good thing for me, one of the most disciplined men as well.

“I’m not a hero, Mr. Reporter,” he said in a voice that approached a low growl. “I wanted nothing more than to live my life, work my farm, and be left alone. I was the most horrible soldier in the Sestius militia. My officers and sergeants thought I was the biggest waste of skin in the regiment.”

“And now you are one of the most decorated soldiers in the Imperial Army. Comments?”

“Something took away my wife, and my life. Killed my neighbors, destroyed my farm. And I couldn’t allow them to get away with that. So I stepped in and did what needed doing.”

The Hunter took one more sip of beer and put the glass on the side table, then turned those terrifying eyes back on me. It was my turn to feel a shiver run up my spine.

“I don’t have a death wish. Oh, I did, when my wife was killed. I wanted to kill the bastards, and didn’t really care if I made it out or not.”

“And now?”

“I have a wife and children now,” he said, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, then back into my eyes. His eyes had changed again, once more those of a caring young man. “I miss my late wife, and love Devera, my current partner, and our children. She treats them just like they are her own, and I love her to death for that. I want to come out of the other side of this thing alive and well. But I know that if I don’t do my best, if we all don’t fight to the best of our abilities, it doesn’t matter what I want. What I want out of life. Because we’re all going to be dead. You, me, my family, the billions of people on this world that I don’t know. So it’s up to me to do my part.”

The young man’s eyes changed once again, and I was once more looking at The Hunter. “I think this interview is over, Mr. Reporter.” He stood up from his seat, and I rose with him. He turned his back on this mere newsman, nothing special in the scheme of things, and walked with that graceful stride to the door and out.

I had my story, one that was sure to raise the moral of the people, realizing what kind of people we had fighting for us. And I felt sorry for the Cacas. They had no idea what they had created when they had killed yet one more human female on a frontier world. And now they had another human stalking them, hitting them from the shadows, putting the fear of humanity in their hearts. Poor bastards.

Next Monday (9/22//2104) I have a real treat. Author Chuck Gannon will be interviewing one of his characters. As Chuck does not have his own blog, we will be posting it on both Sarah Hoyt’s and my blog. Biography below. And for those who don’t know Chuck, go check out his books.

Dr. Charles E. Gannon’s Nebula-nominated best-seller, Fire With Fire, won the 2014 Compton Crook Award. It’s August 2014 sequel, Trial By Fire, launched (with a starred review in PW) as an immediate best-seller, as was Gannon’s June 2014 collaboration with Eric Flint, 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies. Their 1635: The Papal Stakes, was a Wall Street Journal Best Seller. Gannon also collaborates in the NYT best-selling Starfire series and has been published (mostly novellas) in various shared universes and anthologies (Honorverse, Man-Kzin, War-World, Going Interstellar) and magazines such as Analog.

Although no longer in the classroom, Gannon remains a Distinguished Professor of English (SBU), was a Fulbright Senior Specialist (2004-2009), is a member of the sf think-tank SIGMA (advises DoD, NASA, NRO, others), has been featured on The Discovery Channel and NPR, and won the 2006 ALA Choice Award for Rumors of War and Infernal Machines.

Last night I quietly put Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike up on Amazon. I say quietly, since probably the only people who knew it was coming were people who followed or friended me on Facebook (hint, hint). Normally I do at least a blog entry or two trumpeting the release before hand, along with a Twitter campaign and a newsletter release. Truth be told, I had too much to do, trying to finish up the book, working on another at the same time (I can only do so much reviewing and proofing in a day), trying to buy a house. This time I only mentioned putting the book up on Facebook, and, at three o’clock Eastern time, a fan in Singapore noted that it was up and he had bought a copy. Thank you, Paul Mah. One of the many interesting people from around the World I have met since embarking on my self-publishing journey. Larry Southard, another fan, this one from Florida, not only got a death in the book of cosmic proportions, he also garnered the dedication. What can you say about a guy who wears a t-shirt to a major convention (LibertyCon) with my book cover on it. I will continue to tweet it over the next couple of weeks, and will send out the newsletter in a couple of days. The newsletter itself would be more important to me if I had more subscribers, only a little over two hundred so far. The book itself, Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike, can be found on Amazon at the link. It is already, in its first, not so complete, day, in the top 11,000 of paid Kindle sales, and in the top one hundred in several genre categories.

Sales are going well. In a little under two years I have sold over 94,000 books, the great majority ebooks, but also some paperbacks, and now some audiobooks of Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1. Three hundred audio books in less than a month. Not sure if that is good or bad, but the producer jumped on board to put out book two, so it must be doing good enough. The next project up is the fourth book of the Refuge series (or fifth by some reckoning), my second best, and not near as popular as Exodus, series. Some wonder why I even write in it if I’m not getting the sales. But it was put out there as a series, and each book has at least two thousand sales. I believe I have an implicit contract with those readers to deliver the rest of the series, so it will be written, one book this year, another the next. And now for the obligatory excerpt from Exodus 7.

“Did we really have to bring along so much of this shit?” asked Petty Officer First Satrusalya, holding one end of the large container by a handle. “This stuff gives me the shakes.”

Cornelius looked at the man, who was larger that he was. Being an augmented Naval Commando, using the same process the Ranger had undergone, that meant he was stronger, and just a bit slower due to his mass.

“I don’t really like it either,” said the Cadet Lieutenant, eying the tube that was a magnetic containment device filled with one of the deadliest known substances, negative matter. Only antimatter was more feared. Negative matter canceled out itself and normal matter on contact. Once out of its containment there was nothing that was proof against it. The only positive thing about the negative matter was that it could only cancel out the same mass. “But I like the idea of a hundred gigaton or larger bomb going off near me even less, and this stuff may be the only thing that will cancel it out before it kills us.”

They were moving quietly along the wall that separated the corridor from the kilometer thick supercable that was one of the supports the aliens had to sever to destroy the station. Five Rangers and the other Naval Commando were in the lead, crouched low, weapons ready. Cornelius walked just ahead of the two men carrying the container, while the last Ranger took up the rear, thirty meters behind and his watch covering that direction.

All of the men were veterans, and Cornelius trusted them to do their jobs competently. Cornelius had been in special ops for a far shorter time than most of the men, and was not yet a commissioned officer. The double award of the Imperial Medal of Heroism made him a trusted leader, however, someone these tough warriors were in awe of.

The Commando in the front, Petty Officer First Khrushchev, the leader of that element due to his experience operating aboard spaceships, held his hand up and knelt down, waving the officer trainee forward. Cornelius ran to him, making no sound, and came to a kneel beside him. He didn’t even have to ask the man what was going on. His hypersensitive ears picked up the sound of fighting, both directly ahead and to the left down another corridor. The Marines must be to the front, and Chung and his people to the left, he thought. The Marines, in heavy combat armor, would be trying to blast their way through the Cacas arrayed to protect the bomb. The IIA Agents were a decoy force, hitting the Cacas down another angle of approach, trying to draw the enemy away from this one.

“We’re getting close,” he whispered to the Commando, who nodded back. They were avoiding com link for the moment, thinking that the enemy might pick it up so close to their lines. Rangers and Commandos were trained to operate without electronics. At this time they were carrying more powerful weapons than they usually did, and two of the men had the backpacks of laser cutters on their backs, just in case.

“I hope they don’t set the damned thing off before we get to it,” said Sergeant Pasco, one of the Rangers.

“They want to set them all off at the same time,” said Cornelius. “Not give us a chance to make repairs before they sever another cable.”

He listened for a second more, then waved his hand to get everyone moving. They hadn’t gone more than fifty meters before Khrushchev was again raising his hand and stopping the formation.

“They’re right ahead,” said the Petty Officer, gesturing with his rifle down the corridor.

Cornelius listened carefully, the movement of the armored Cacas sounding from ahead. We need to get through them quickly. Then hit the Cacas that are facing the Marines from behind. He was starting to wave the other men forward when a particle beam came ripping down the corridor and struck Khrushchev in the chest.

Today was the release date of Deeper and Darker, the third volume of The Deep Dark Well trilogy. In Volume 2, To Well And Back, Watcher was captured by the Nation of Humanity. Pandora Latham, his lover from forty thousand years in the past, must organize a rescue mission to save Watcher from the hands of the New Galactic Empire, which intends to try him for the sins of his alter ego, Vengeance. The New Galactic Empire has the number, the New Galactic Confederation of Watcher and Pandi has the tech. The question is, will it be enough? Or will the brainwashing tyrant of the New Galactic Empire, the Immortal Emperor Alphonso Kitticaris, reign supreme over a slave empire with no end. Right now the book is available on Amazon here. Later next week I will try to get the paperback version up on Createspace. I have a finished first draft of the first book of a second trilogy set in that Universe, but due to the demand for Exodus, I will be waiting to put it out.

Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike, should be available by the last week of August. Currently I am at 60,000 words of the hopefully 120,000 word novel. A can be seen above, the cover is ready to go. After that novel I will finish the fourth book of the Refuge series. It will require at least another book after that one to finish off that series, or at least the beginning, though I still have not given up hope on it as a viable effort in the future. And then on to the next Exodus novel. And now, an excerpt of Deeper and Darker.

I’ve got to get out of here, thought Watcher as he severed the link with the ship’s computer. According to the navigation computer the battleship he was on, as well as the rest of the force, was a little over halfway to its destination. They were in hyper VII, with a pseudospeed of over thirty-five thousand times light. The borders of the New Terran Empire were over three thousand light years from the Supersystem, and the core system of that polity was a thousand light years from that border. It was a fifty-two day trip overall, counting time to accelerate and decelerate back down, one that his own ships could make in a little over thirteen days. And just our bad luck that the bastards had to be so close to us.

He had been checking out the databases about the Empire, and what he saw was chilling. They had quadrupled the size of their empire in the last hundred years, and it was increasing at a geometric rate. At its present expansion it would double again in the next twenty years, then again ten years later. And most of the developing powers in that space didn’t have a prayer. There were twelve other multi-star system governments in that threatened space, and none of them stood a chance against the Empire.

It wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t complete dicks, he thought, recalling more of the information he had gleaned from the databanks. The Empire was ruled by a single human male, one who had lived for over five hundred years, and looked as if he had no intention of dying anytime soon. It was a totalitarian regime that brooked no dissension or interference with its plans and policies. Just the kind of government Watcher despised.

Watcher linked back in with the ship, this time going beyond the safe confines that he had set himself, going straight into the heart of the security programs. He had been here before, for fleeting instants, checking out the sensitivity of the programs to intruders, learning what he could get away with. Now he took some steps beyond those boundaries.

He had determined that now was the best time to escape, while they were still outside the borders of the Empire, while he only had to escape and avoid these ships. The only problem was, he still didn’t know if that was possible.

He looked through the security system and noted that all the nearby corridors were empty. There were security personnel on duty in the surveillance room that oversaw this block of cells (and there sure were enough of those on what was supposed to be a warship). The rest of the corridors leading to his planned destination were as empty as could be during the late night cycle of the ship, when the only people up were those who had duty stations to man.

Watcher’s mind, the most powerful organic data processing instrument in the Galaxy since the disappearance of the almost legendary Ancients, moved with ease through the systems of the ship. For a moment he had the access to make the ship do anything he wanted. That access was only momentary, and would give away the game, but he could do it.

He set the security systems to indicate that his cell was occupied, and that the door had remained closed, even while it was opening to his front. The sensors at the security station would continue to monitor his calm heartbeat, while the visual pickups would show a lifelike image of himself, pieced together from hundreds of hours of surveillance recordings, sitting on his bed, or sleeping, or any of a thousand other actions.

Watcher slipped through the door, glancing in both directions, his superior mind filling in every detail with that one look. The cell door closed behind him, and he started moving the direction he wanted, his own location appearing in his optical centers on a schematic of the ship.

The battleship massed fifteen million tons, and measured well over two kilometers by eight hundred meters. There were six thousand people aboard, spacemen and marines. If he had to fight his way through them all he was dead. But so far it was looking very good that he might be able to sneak through to where he wanted to be. After that, it would be up to his skills at manipulating the computer to get off the ship and away, spoofing their sensors and dropping off their plot.

The armory he had scoped out was ahead and to the right. Its lock was no more advanced than that of his cell, and the thick door slid in and to the side as he approached. Of course, there was an inner door on a separate circuit, but that was only a microsecond of effort to open it in the same way. Inside the armory was rack after rack of weapons, as well as some various sizes of body armor. No powered armor, which was a bit disappointing, but not really unexpected. Naval powered armor would be stored where the crew could get to it during battle alerts, while the marine version would be kept by their quarters.

It took a little over a minute to strap on some of the body armor, breast and back plate, shoulder pads, forearm and thigh guards, and a tactical helmet. He strapped on several hand weapons, then chose the most powerful rifle he could find. Again, it was not what he would have preferred, but it was the best he could get at the moment.

The armory sealed itself up after he left, and he continued on his way, tapping into the security system to see ahead of him, making sure he was not running into any of the crew. There were some tense moments there, as he saw people wandering halls on several occasions, and once an armed patrol, which made him wonder how much this Admiral trusted his own people

It’s just ahead, he thought, walking down the corridor, his booted feet not making the slightest sound. He gripped the particle beam rifle in his hands, ready for any betraying movement that would warn him of an enemy. The weapon seemed somewhat primitive compared to what he was used to, and he was sure that it was not in the same class as what he had carried off of the station, but hopefully powerful enough to defeat their own armor. The helmet on his head had its com activated, at least the receiving portion of the tactical communications link.

He pushed a small probe around a corner that was the last before the main corridor that led to the hangar. The probe was a small fiber optic line that was flexible enough to shape to any desired configuration. It was attached to his helmet, and gave him a view of whatever the end was pointed to. Now it was giving him a view of two battle suited Marines standing before the hatch that led into the hangar, particle beam rifles in their hands.

Now how in the hell do I get past them, he thought, knowing that if he shot the men an alarm would definitely sound. That concern was rendered moot as said alarm went off, a loud klaxon that sounded through the corridor along with red flashing lights.

“The prisoner has escaped,” came a voice over the tactical com. “Repeat, the being known as Watcher has escaped and is at large on the ship. He is to be considered extremely dangerous.”

So much for caution, he thought, crawling around the corner to expose his head and rifle, sighting in on the first of the Marines, who were now alertly looking up the corridor. He developed an instant sight picture and squeezed his trigger, connecting the red beam from the end of his rifle to the faceplate of the Marine. He kept the beam in contact for more than a second, not sure of how strong it was. The faceplate dissolved in a flash of vaporized alloy, followed by a spurt of reddish steam as the beam demolished the face behind it. The Marine dropped, while his partner swung his rifle around and fired at Watcher, putting his beam just above the superman.

Shit, thought Watcher, as he scooted back behind the corner, the searing heat of the near miss blistering the flesh on his neck. He had made an estimate of the rifle’s power, and while definitely not in the class of his own tech, it was powerful enough to kill him quickly. He expects me to come crawling around again. He’ll be ready for that. So I need to do something different.

Something different was to come rocketing around the corner, leaping forward, his rifle tracking onto the standing Marine, sending a beam out that struck the enemy’s weapon and the hand that was holding the forward grip. The Marine yelled and dropped his rifle, and Watcher swept he beam up into his helmet.

He ran to the hatch while trying to link with the computer and open it. His mind ran into a wall, the security systems up and alerted. Watcher stepped back, aiming his rifle at the hatch with a low expectation of success, but not knowing what else to do. He triggered the beam, letting it eat into the alloy of the hatch. Some metal vapor spurted into the air, but he could tell right off that it wasn’t enough. Thirty seconds of fire and the beam died, and a quick look at the rifle showed an empty proton pack.

He pulled the used pack out of the rifle while looking at the superficial gouge in the hatch. Just as he pulled a new pack from the belt, he heard the approach of armored footsteps, and looked up to see a number of Marines and Spacers heading his way, weapons pointed menacingly.

“Drop that weapon and stand against the wall,” said the Naval officer who was leading the group. “Do it. Now.”

Watcher didn’t think they would be very happy with his killing of two of their own. And I sure don’t want to see what they’re going to do about it. With that thought he slammed the proton pack home and started to close the port.

The sonics sounded, and his muscles quivered as they tried to put him down. He raised his weapon, trying to sight in on one of the enemy. His vision was blurred, he couldn’t see anything, but still pulled the trigger, sending a beam down the corridor. The vibrations intensified as more sonic weapons were brought the bear, and the superman fought against the darkness that was attempting to engulf him. With a sigh consciousness left, and first his rifle hit the floor, then his body, as everything went black.

Exodus 1 will be free from 04/25-04/29/2014. Also, Exodus: Empires of War: Book 6: The Day of Battle, will be released on 04/27/2014. And now, the extended blurb for 1:

The Exodus series has to date sold over 58,000 copies, and has over 550 worldwide reviews on Amazon, with a 4.4 star average rating. Books three through five have made it to number one in Military Science Fiction and Space Opera on Amazon UK, and has hit the top ten in those categories in the US, book 3 actually hitting number two in both categories. Book 6 is coming out on April 27th, and in celebration I am giving away book 1 from April 25th through 29th.

Humankind was forced to flee when the mighty Ca’cadasan Empire, which had been in the business of conquest for thousands of years, came calling on one of humanity’s new interstellar colonies. The humans killed a Ca’cadasan warrior after surrender, the heir of the Emperor, and sealed the fate of humanity. The six Exodus ships were launched in an attempt to get some of the human species to safety. Each contained fifty thousand colonists in cryostasis, along with a sampling of human creativity and the genetic heritage of several worlds, as well as the sum total knowledge of the species. One ship was known to escape, while four were destroyed. No one knew what happened to number five, with the possible exception of it crew. Exodus III, the known survivor, voyages a thousand years and ten thousand light years, to find a new home in the Perseus arm. A new colony is started in the Supersystem, a cluster of eight stars in orbit around a black hole. Over the next thousand years the human species wars with the many alien species of the region, growing in power and technology as they expand to become the preeminent power in the region. The pride of the Empire is the Fleet, an organization that has never lost a war.

On the thousand year anniversary of the New Terran Empire, most are thinking of the yearlong celebration that would take place among the ten thousand occupied planets of the polity. The Emperor has other things on his mind, as his prophetic dreams are telling him that the old enemy is coming. Soon, unknown ships of a vaguely familiar design are seen scouting Imperial Space. The Emperor is on a crusade to expand the military, but meets stiff resistance from Parliament, and alien powers that see the buildup as a sign of future human agression. And the century long engineering project, the Donut, an enormous circular station in orbit around the black hole, is coming online, producing the first wormholes that will eventually link the Empire.

Sean Ogden Lee Romanov, the third son of the Emperor, is a serving naval officer on a battleship, with no aspirations to sit on the throne. Extremely intelligent, the young man is at best a mediocre officer, but is determined to make the Fleet his career. But a tidal wave is coming over the horizon that will change everything. Dreams will be shattered, lives lost, and billions displaced as the consummate Empire builders come calling. And soon war will erupt like the Perseus arm has never before seen, as mighty amateur fights the consummate professionals of the Fleet, in a battle of extermination that neither can afford to lose.

As stated in my last post, a very big weekend is coming up for the Exodus: Empires at War series. For those who have not read the series, there are currently five books out, and they have sold over 58,000 copies between them. Not in the range of David Weber, but pretty damned good for something I have had to self promote. There are over 550 reviews worldwide, mostly on Amazon US and UK, and an overall rating of 4.4 stars. They have been compared to Weber, Ringo and others, and I have developed a very loyal fan base that includes physicists, mathematicians, ex and current military, and even an astronaut, as well as science fiction fans old and young. I am very proud of the series. Could it be better? Most definitely. One improvement could be the covers, and I have gone ahead and made that improvement on book one.

On April 25th through 29th Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1, will be available for free download on Amazon. I made up a new cover for the book, something I think is more colorful and attractive. For those who haven’t read this series, this is the chance to get in on the ground floor for free.

On April 27th the 6th book of the series, The Day of Battle, will be released. I will be uploading the book to Amazon on the evening of the 26th, and it will probably be available by 2 or 3 AM eastern time. I couldn’t imagine this before it happened, but there were some fans who actually stayed up late to snag the book as soon as they could. Unlike the last volume, this novel will follow the main storyline. It will be the most action packed book of the series though. Some people liked the ground action, so there is plenty of ground action, including a tank battle and several spaceship and station boarding battles. And most said they wanted more space battles. I think there are over a dozen, from several page shorts to a massive action at the climax. I think it is the best book of the series. Of course, I don’t get to make that determination. That’s for the fans. I can only hope that the people who read this book like it as much as its predecessors. And now for an excerpt:

“They’re heading this way, sir,” said Lieutenant SG Lasardo, the Tactical Officer of the destroyer, and a man who von Rittersdorf had handpicked for the position. “No surprise there.”

And why the hell did I have to tell the Commodore that this was a good idea. His was the only hyper VII capable ship in the escort, and the only ship likely to get away if they ran. The three hyper VI destroyers might make it, while the VI light cruiser wouldn’t have much of a chance. He was in charge by dint of being a squadron commander, though the rest of his squadron was with the Commodore. That, and the fact that his ship was equipped with a wormhole com. I wish I had some of the other stuff he Commodore’s ship has, he thought, knowing that such would not be wasted on a mere destroyer.

“Get me the Commodore on the com,” he told his Com Officer. It’s about time to make sure everyone is on the same page.

* * *

The Commodore stared at the holo, watching the movement of every ship in hyper V. Her own command was superimposed on that holo, sitting in normal space, coasting at point two c to the point of entry, while the timer ticked down. Everything was set into motion. Her force was tracking the enemy both through their hyperdrive emissions as received in normal space, and the tracking information of von Rittersdorf’s vessel coming through the wormhole. She had unprecedented tracking capabilities, and hopefully weapons that were beyond the wildest dreams of the Cacas, especially in a knife fight like she was developing.

“All stations report readiness status green,” said the Com Officer, looking back at the Commodore.

Mei looked over at the com station, noting the holo of an officer above the board, the Com Officer on one of the battle stations sitting over a thousand light years away, orbiting the Supersystem black hole.

“The stations are reporting that they have fifty missiles in each tube,” said the Com Officer. “They’ll be up to max velocity in one point three minutes.”

“What about the PBs?” asked Mei.

The Com Officer went to her board for a moment, then looked back. “All particle beams are fully up and ready.”

“Let the force know we will go on the mark. Philippi and Dauphin will follow our lead. Targets are designated as…” The Commodore pointed to the target icons on the holo and assigned them to her vessels. “We jump in forty-three seconds.”

The Commodore stared at the holo, watching as the icons of her force, eleven battle cruisers, four heavy cruisers and fourteen destroyers, closed to superimposition with the enemy force.

“Jumping, now,” called out the Navigation Officer, looking over at the Helmsman.

The lights on the bridge dimmed for a moment as all available power was transferred to the hyperdrive projectors without tapping into the battery backups. With the transfer came the nausea, for most only a second or so. And then the stars of space were replaced by the red backdrop of hyperspace splattered with the tiny black dots of the distant gravity wells that were stars.

The tactical holo updated with real time information in less than a second. Before the next second ticked off every ship had opened fire, well before the enemy could react.

* * *

“The enemy ships are opening fire,” called out the Tactical Officer, as hundreds of red icons appeared on the tactical holo.

“How are they getting so many missiles into space?” asked the Task Force Commander.

“Their commercial vessels are also sending missiles our way,” said the Tactical Officer. “From their velocity I would guess they don’t have acceleration tubes. I don’t think they will be much of a threat.”

The Task Force Leader sat back in his chair and grinned. The enemy was getting desperate. But desperation would not save them.

“We have translations,” yelled out the Sensor Officer.

“Where,” yelled the Task Force Leader, coming out of his seat.

“Right on top of us,” yelled the officer, as the icons of enemy vessels appeared on the tactical plot.

Something flared impossibly bright on one of the viewers, which stepped down the intensity in an instant. Two of the icons on the tactical were blinking, one of his battleships, and a scout ship of the enemy. The biggest problem with the icons was they were right on top of each other. Which meant an enemy scout ship had translated right into the path of a battleship, if not directly inside of it.

A side viewer showed the debris of a twenty-five million ton battleship fading from hyper in a series of catastrophic translations. Not that it mattered to any of the crew of that ship, who were most decidedly dead. And then the flagship shook from the hits of an impossibly powerful particle beam, while damage klaxons went off and the lights dimmed again.

* * *

Mei Lei grimaced as the enemy force appeared on the viewer. Not just because they outmassed her force. She was very close to the enemy task force, a lot closer than most captains would be comfortable with. Something flared on the screen, and she grimaced again as she watched one of her destroyers come out of hyper halfway inside an enemy battleship. Both ships fell apart from the combined forces of objects trying to occupy the same space at the same time, and the difference in velocities and vectors that tore at them.

In the cold calculations of war of attrition, she should have been happy with that result, trading two hundred tons of warship and two hundred and fifty lives for twenty-five million tons and many thousands of the enemy. But all she could think about were the brave men and women of that ship who hadn’t even had time to realize they were doomed.

“Firing,” yelled out the Tactical Officer, and the ship bucked as she fired all weapons at the nearest enemy vessel, a battleship.

All of the vessels in her force opened up with lasers and particle beams, tossing missiles at the same time, giving the enemy some extra targets to deal with. All but three of the ships were equipped with standard weapons loadouts for their classes. Jean de Arc and her two sisters had the normal loadout, with the exception of the two wormhole weapons’ ports each carried.

The three battle cruisers each let loose with a pair of massive particle weapons, the pairs of beams all striking a different battleship. The enemy ships were moving at point three five c, while the human vessels were moving at an almost parallel vector to the Cacas at point two c. The beams were from accelerators much larger than the battle cruisers would have been capable of carrying without dispensing with most of their other weapons. Those accelerators were actually over a thousand light years away, on purpose built battle stations in orbit around the Supersystem central black hole. Each accelerator massed over four million tons, half the mass of the ships they were feeding. Protons, or in this case, antiprotons, were accelerated up to point nine nine nine nine c, and fed through the wormhole to the projectors of the battle cruisers.

A ton a second of ultrafast particles fired from the two projectors on each ship, while the battle cruisers engaged their grabbers at full power to compensate for the recoil. All three eight point five million ton ships actually lost forward velocity in the classic action-reaction formula.

Jean de Arc’s twin particle beams ripped into the side of one of the battleships, antimatter exploding as it powered into the material of the hull. The enemy ships hadn’t deployed cold plasma fields, and their electromag fields were not at full strength. Huge pieces of hull blew off into space and translated away, while the beam dug deeper into the vessel. There were seven seconds of firing time for each beam, which was about what the opening distance and the time the material of the beam could exist in hyperspace would allow anyway.

Smaller explosions sparked on the surface of many more enemy ships, and Mei knew that more deadly interior explosions were also rocking those vessels. All of the warships carried quantum teleportation devices, and were taking their best shot at sending more of the deadly substance into the enemy vessels. The loss of weapons fire and targeting of many of those vessels showed that the strategy was working.

Two battle cruisers and a heavy cruiser were gushing atmosphere, and one of the battle cruisers blew up in a flash and disappeared. Several destroyers were also taking a pounding while they continued to take the nearest enemy ships under fire. Enemy missiles were closing at relatively slow velocity, most to be taken out by defensive fire, though several got through to blast gigatons of explosive power into the hulls of light vessels. The defensive fire of the Ca’cadasan ships was proving too much for the human missiles, which, with a few exceptions, were being blown out of space.

At seven seconds the particle beam fired died, and the Commodore sweated for the thirty seconds it took to move the wormhole at the other end to access the next weapons system. Two savaged enemy battleships continued on, one so badly damaged that it was not able to alter its vector of velocity. And one ship flashed into catastrophic translation, gone.

“First missile due in twelve seconds,” stated the Com Officer, as the Tactical Officer gave a thumbs up to the Commodore, indicated that the hole had been mated at the other end.

“Light them up, Tac,” ordered the Commodore. The officer smiled back, looked back to his board, and started sending firing solutions to the first missiles to come through.

I released Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger on December 27th, 2013. Since that time it has sold over 2,400 copies, mostly ebooks, but some paperbacks as well. Currently it is ranked number 1 in three categories across the pond on Amazon.UK, Books: Space Opera and Kindle: Space Opera and Military Scifi. It’s ranked number 7 in Books: Space Opera and Military Scifi, and Kindle: Space Opera onAmazon.US, down from a number 5 rank in all those categories a week ago. It is averaging 4.5 stars at Amazon US, with 16 five star reviews, 2 four star, a three and a pair of twos. One of the twos admitted to skimming much of the book, so I really discount his opinion as far as how much attention I should give to his points. In the UK the book has six reviews, with five 5 stars and a 4. I have also received emails, Facebook posts and blog replies that let me know that people are really liking the book. Book 5 was somewhat of a departure from the previous books, concentrating on ground warfare, with one of the minor characters of the other books now the star, and the majors pushed into a distant supporting role. I was told by some readers even before the book came out that they wouldn’t like it because it didn’t feature space action. Some of my reviews said they loved the book despite the focus on land warfare, while others, mostly from ground pounders old and new, loved the setting.

When I started the Exodus series it was intended to be Military Science Fiction, covering all aspects of a future war on a grand scale. It was labeled Space Opera by readers who marked it as such on Amazon. No problem, since that is a very popular sub-genre. But I did not want to be pigeonholed into only writing about spaceships. There is so much more to scifi that things blowing up in space, though I tend to include a lot of that in most of my books as well. There are the planets, big complicated things with their own evolutionary path and history, leading to some strange and interesting life forms. There are aliens, who shouldn’t always act just like humans, nor look like people with prosthetic devices on their faces. There are politics, and intrigue, and technology. Aw, the technology. Several years ago on a site specializing in helping science fiction and fantasy writers I posed a question about wormholes, asking the members what uses they could think of for them besides transport of people and things. The answers I got really surprised me. Mostly no ideas, just responses of ‘what else would they be needed for.’ I have come up with many uses for wormholes in my novels, and have some more on the horizon. They are a central tech in my books, and central techs in societies are normally developed in way that even surprised the inventors.

The first four books stuck with the main storyline, as convoluted as it was. I decided that one of the characters needed a story, so I wrote it. One of the great things about being self-published is I have total control of the series. I will continue to write side stories in the future. I already have the ideas, and I think they add something to the overall saga. But I have a thought, just to keep everything straight, I would start doing the side stories under a different title, like Exodus: Tales of the Empire, to cover excursions into other areas of the war, short stories, and historical events (in that Universe). I will still concentrate on the main storyline, but will also put out one or two books a year in the side line. That way, people who only want to follow the main storyline can do so by buying the Empires at War books, while those interested in the larger scope of the Universe can also pick up the Tales of the Empire line. And thanks to all of you who keep buying any of my books. You make it all worthwhile.